The Weekly Music Round Up! What’s going on this week, you ask? Quite a lot. This weekend there are literally dozens of shows, and a lot of those shows coincidentally fall on the 20th of this month, which a lot of people seem to be excited about. The FREE PRESS WEEKLY PICK OF THE WEEK: Black Sabbath Tribute Band: Lords of the Universe Look at this poster. This show is on 4/20. There will be fog. Black Sabbath songs, performed with the kind of love and faithful attention that only true die hard metal head Sab fanatics could possibly give. Are ... Read More »

That’s right, folks. Your beloved Free Press Houston has hit a major milestone:  We’ve got TEN (10) years of publishing under our collective belts now. And we wouldn’t have gotten this far without the support and love that we get from our readers and our community. So, what better way to give a big ‘ol thanks to our hometown and celebrate this festive occasion than to throw a big ass party? We can’t think of one. So come hang out with us, listen to a fantastic lineup of music, partake in some local food and drink, and help us prepare ... Read More »

by Omar Afra Illustration by Blake Jones I drive a car. I ride a bike. I even walk sometimes. Eventually I go pee-pee somewhere. Anyways, the amount of folks riding bikes here in the nucleus of Houston seems to be increasing everyday. What was once a last resort in a city immersed in car culture has become commonplace in Houston’s ever-growing center. And as our busy streets fill with more bikes, this is a good time for both drivers and riders to reflect on the best ways to move forward and share the road. There is a shared responsibility to ... Read More »

By Maxwell Morgan In a season of firsts, the Texans went to New York for their first nationally televised game of the season. They left with a first time ever 5-0 record, winning their first away Monday Night Football game, and suffering their first significant injury of the season. Brian Cushing, our defensive captain, is out for the season with a torn ACL that happened on a seemingly illegal clip away from play in the second quarter. So, even in this win, the Texans have sustained a significant loss. The national pundits had been scoffing at the matchup between the ... Read More »

The good thing about video is it is harder to mis-spell shit. Free Press TV has arrived and brought friends. Join us as we interview Mayor Annise Parker, go to the gun show, visit with Arthur Bates, and enjoy some Lightning Bolt. Watch now, tell a friend, and prepare yourself for tons more to come. Expect an episode every 2 weeks and tricklings of goodness in between. Read More »

A few practical ways for the City of Houston to increase revenue, decrease the budget shortfall, and make everyone’s lives a whole lot easier by adapting to 15-year-old technology. By Omar Afra Illustration by Tim Dorsey Despite Houston’s relative resilience to the recession and actual job growth, our municipal government is pretty much up shit’s creek when it comes to fiscal responsibility. With an accumulated deficit of 2.5 billion dollars and an annual budget deficit of 130 million dollars, it is critical that the city both finds efficiencies and raises revenue. Mayor Parker has launched a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’-type ... Read More »

Yes folks, it is finally time for our annual get together where we bring you a bunch of cool bands along the banks of the bayou.  You sweat, you dance, you drink a lot of water, put down some beers, eat a bunch of food, hang out with some awesome folks and Joe Ortiz will go around asking everyone if they want a free hug.  Who knows, Hippie Mike may return to dance for everyone’s pleasure.  The point is, it’s a lot of fun so you should be there unless you are in jail, dead, or your hatred of hipsters is ... Read More »

By Alex Wukman For most people in Houston performance art is a little like a mountain lion: easy to read about but hard to see. The last time performance art received any notice in the local press was in November 2008 when Wayne Dolcefino ran an all-sizzle-no-steak report on the “shady world of taxpayer funded art” that included a couple of clips from the Performance Art Lab with the question “is it art?” Seriously, a guy who thinks including clips from the old Adam West Batman show in his expose about Blood Alcohol Test Vans–because BAT Vans rhymes with Batman–makes ... Read More »

by Omar Afra Channy Moon Casselle is the vocalist for up and coming darlings Polica; the The Twin cities band comprised of Caselle on vocals and a unique arrangement of backing musicians. The atmospheric stew that is Polica is 2 drummers, a bass player, and Caselle singing through a legion of effects and controlling a Macbook Pro which handles the synths and sequences. And no guitar. What you get is a wide open soundscape which gives a airy palette for Casselle’s stellar vocal range. Her vocals are both delicate and powerful while the band focuses on stirring and meditative compositions ... Read More »

By Jacob Calle Photos By Amy Farina Ian MacKaye is most widely known as the singer for Fugazi, Minor Threat, and a handful of other influential hardcore punk bands.  Without a doubt he is a central figure in creating the notion of a ‘do it your self’ punk ethic and is credited with coining the term “straight-edge.” As well as fronting such bands, MacKaye has produced and released works by countless other artists and has dabbled in activism. Since their ‘indefinite hiatus’ in 2002, Fugazi has been dormant and rumors of reuniting, shows, or new records have abounded. But the ... Read More »